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Nalates Urriah

When are Art & Images…

There is no inherent soul in the virtual world, just as there is no soul in the silver chemicals in photographic film. So, we accurately say we ‘capture’ an emotion on film. It too is accurate to say essences are captured in Second Life and depicted in the art we create. We bring that emotion into our virtual world art. We shape the avatars or the scene to depict emotion or mood and capture it. It is no easy task. Talent determines how well we do it.

ceiling zero

The tech High Fidelity is developing may make capturing emotion easier. But, they are trying to reproduce what we, the humans behind the avatar, are expressing. So, do we have to become an actor to create the emotions we want to depict in our art? That has some deep psychological implications to think about.

Reproducing reality is not what art is about. Photography with a camera in RL does that very well. But, the billions of images we take aren’t all art. Some are just images, pictures showing what was there. They only become art when they capture that elusive something more. How much will that change when we capture our world and can reproduce it in a virtual reality?

I suspect Facebook with have billions of VR images that are pictures, showing what was there only in greater detail. But, the possibility for art… we will be able to shape so many more aspects of what people experience when they observe the art. In Sansar, like SL, we will be able to shape parts of the world that RL artists can’t. Want a picture of you crying on Mars with the tears feeding some small desperate plant straining to gather the life your sadness brings to it? You can do it. Even if a RL person got to the physical Mars, the need for a protective suit to sustain them would prevent a tear reaching the ground. There truly are things that can only be done in virtual worlds and the corollary is that there is some art that can only be created in virtual worlds.

Ascomycota in the park

For most of us observing and enjoying is what art is about. I hope those experiences fuel the creative desires and create more artists.